in our world obsessed culture, it almost seems redundant that i am writing something at all. that is really how i view these words typed out in front of me. but writing has a loftier goal for our human spirit, for the ways in which we long to be interconnected at a level deeper than the surface skimming that we do most frequently in our verbal winsome wordiness. writing is for the ways in which we think better when we are forced to close our mouths and open our ears to a quieter voice, a still and small voice that prompts us to ask more questions of ourselves and the world around us. this is a simple process, writing. it is letters and words and phrases that express something otherwise left unsaid. in the marketplace of ideas, mine are lost among the mileu, but they are not lost to me along my journey. this is also a complex process, writing. words commit us for a time to an idea or notion and when we share these written words, they become our present identity to the world. do we dare to write the things which normally dash around inside our head? do we dare?
in a season where much of our world is observing a tradition that makes us intentionally aware of our addictive, compulsive and otherwise thoughtless behavior, we have this yearly opportunity to let these behaviors have less control over us. it is called fasting. it takes place during a time called Lent or Lenten season.
there are so many things i could deny myself that would open new opportunities for learning and listening to God. there are so many things that distract me from pure dependence on God. i am inviting my children to fast with me for the next 40 days and to bring their new thoughts together at the end of the day. i am hoping that we will all learn from each other in some way the value of listening to what is central to life and quieting the louder and less important voices.
welcome lent.
Soul Simple 